Unity struggle is major story of 2018

Share

The struggle to hold The United Methodist Church together despite longstanding division over homosexuality was the denomination’s top news story of 2018.

Church communicators and United Methodist News staffers vote annually for the top five United Methodist news stories. Twenty-three ballots were cast this year.

The unity efforts by the Commission on a Way Forward and others have dominated discussions as The United Methodist Church moves toward a special called session of General Conference, set for Feb. 23-26 in St. Louis.

Other stories on the 2018 list are the church’s initiatives related to asylum and immigrants; the church’s relief and rebuilding work after natural disasters; the government’s detention and ultimate release of United Methodist missionaries in the Philippines and the church’s response to mass shootings.

Here's a more detailed recap of the top stories and related articles:

First: Looking for a way forward

Members of the Commission on a Way Forward converse as they complete their final commission meeting on May 23, 2018, at the Upper Room chapel in Nashville, Tenn. Photo courtesy of Maidstone Mulenga, Council of Bishops.

For more than 40 years, The United Methodist Church has faced serious internal disagreement over how accepting to be of homosexuality, with ordination of gay persons and same-sex unions as flashpoints.

The Judicial Council heard oral arguments on the question of which legislation could be considered at the special gathering. The council ruled that all legislation related to the “call” of the conference could be put before the delegates.

In October, the council issued another crucial ruling, this time on the constitutionality of the One Church, Traditional and Connectional Conference plans. The council noted that several Traditional Plan petitions would need to be changed to avoid violating the church constitution.

Through the year, annual conferences held listening sessions about the commission’s work and the legislative options before the special General Conference. Some conferences and caucus groups endorsed plans, and new legislative options emerged, such as the Simple Plan and Modified Traditional Plan.

Delegation chairs reported on the high level of interest they were seeing across the church and shared their hopes and anxieties about the St. Louis gathering.

Second: Asylum and immigration

Faith leaders and other supporters of immigrant rights face U.S. Border Patrol agents at the fence between the U.S. and Mexico in San Diego. At bottom right is Emma Escobar of The United Methodist Church's Baltimore-Washington Conference. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

United Methodists’ commitment to welcoming the stranger could be seen through individual churches offering shelter to those at risk of deportation.

One man stayed for months at a United Methodist church in North Carolina, but was arrested and later deported after reporting for an appointment with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Some of the church’s members were arrested while protesting his treatment.

The Trump administration’s generally tougher approach to immigration prompted protest statements from bishops and others within the denomination. United Methodists assisted in caring for immigrants along the border of Texas and California.

Tawanda Chandiwana exhibits a broad smile as he arrives home in Zimbabwe following a 56-day detention in the Philippines. Photo by Taurai Emmanuel Maforo, UMNS.

Three United Methodist missionaries, Miracle Osman of Malawi, Tawanda Chandiwana of Zimbabwe and Adam Shaw of the United States, were detained at police checkpoints in the Philippines while joining in an international, ecumenical fact-finding investigation of alleged human rights violations

All three faced long delays in leaving the country, and Chandiwana was detained for eight weeks, including time spent in a detention center in Manila.

Students lined bleachers and held up handmade signs at a March for Our Lives rally in Parkland, Fla. The rally was held at a park one mile from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people were killed on Feb. 14. Students were calling for stricter gun laws and for greater voter turnout in elections. Photo by Kathy L. Gilbert, UMNS.

Certain place names became disturbingly familiar in 2018, as the sites of mass shootings. Parkland High School in Florida and Santa Fe High School near Houston were among them. So were the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, and Thousand Oaks, California.

Editor's Picks

Ask A Question

Do you have a question about The United Methodist Church? This is the place to get answers. Ask The UMC, a ministry of United Methodist Communications, will answer your question or direct you to an appropriate contact.